This invention is directed to an apparatus and process for producing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) from ethane and ethylene. Especially, this invention is directed to processes for producing vinyl chloride monomer where (1) significant quantities of both ethane and ethylene are present in input streams to the affiliated reactor and (2) hydrogen chloride in the reactor effluent is essentially fully recovered from the effluent in the first unit operation after the ethane/ethylene-to-vinyl reaction step or stage.
Vinyl chloride is a key material in modem commerce, and most processes deployed today derive vinyl chloride from 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) where the EDC is first-derived from ethylene; so, from an abstracted reference frame, at least a three-operation overall system is used (ethylene from primary hydrocarbons, preponderantly via thermal cracking; ethylene to EDC; and then EDC to vinyl chloride). There is an inherent long-felt need in the industry to move toward an approach where vinyl chloride is derived more directly and economically from primary hydrocarbons without a need to first manufacture and purify ethylene, and the inherent economic benefit related to this vision has inspired a significant amount of development.
As a first general area of development, ethane-to-vinyl manufacture is of interest to a number of firms engaged in vinyl chloride production, and a significant amount of literature on the subject is now available. The following paragraphs overview key work related to the embodiments presented in the new developments of the present disclosure.
GB Patent 1,039,369 entitled xe2x80x9cCATALYTIC CONVERSION OF ETHANE TO VINYL CHLORIDExe2x80x9d which issued on Aug. 17, 1966 describes use of multivalent metals, including those in the lanthanum series, in the production of vinyl chloride from ethane. The patent describes use of certain catalysts provided that xe2x80x9csteam, available chlorine and oxygen are used in specific controlled ratios.xe2x80x9d The described system operates at a temperature of between 500 and 750xc2x0 C. Available chlorine in the described technology optionally includes 1,2-dichloroethane.
GB Patent 1,492,945 entitled xe2x80x9cPROCESS FOR PRODUCING VINYL CHLORIDExe2x80x9d which issued on Nov. 23, 1977 to John Lynn Barclay discloses a process for the production of vinyl chloride using lanthanum in a copper-based ethane-to-vinyl catalyst. The authors describe that the lanthanum is present to favorably alter the volatility of copper at the elevated temperature required for operation. Examples show the advantage of excess hydrogen chloride in the affiliated reaction.
GB Patent 2,095,242 entitled xe2x80x9cPREPARATION OF MONOCHLORO-OLEFINS BY OXYCHLORINATION OF ALKANESxe2x80x9d which issued on Sep. 29, 1982 to David Roger Pyke and Robert Reid describes a xe2x80x9cprocess for the production of monochlorinated olefins which comprises bringing into reaction at elevated temperature a gaseous mixture comprising an alkane, a source of chlorine and molecular oxygen in the presence of a . . . catalyst comprising metallic silver and/or a compound thereof and one or more compounds of manganese, cobalt or nickelxe2x80x9d. The authors indicate that mixtures of ethane and ethylene can be fed to the catalyst. No examples are given and the specific advantages of ethane/ethylene mixtures are not disclosed.
GB Patent 2,101,596 entitled xe2x80x9cOXYCHLORINATION OF ALKANES TO MONOCHLORINATED OLEFINSxe2x80x9d which issued on Jan. 19, 1983 to Robert Reid and David Pyke describes a xe2x80x9cprocess for the production of monochlorinated olefins which comprises bringing into reaction at elevated temperature a gaseous mixture comprising an alkane, a source of chlorine and molecular oxygen in the presence of a . . . catalyst comprising compounds of copper, manganese and titanium and is useful in the production of vinyl chloride from ethane.xe2x80x9d The authors further describe that xe2x80x9cthe products of reaction are, in one embodiment, isolated and used as such or are, in one embodiment, recycled . . . to the reactor . . . to increase the yield of monochlorinated olefin.xe2x80x9d The authors indicate that mixture of ethane and ethylene can be fed to the catalyst. No examples are given and the specific advantages of ethane/ethylene mixtures are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,354 entitled xe2x80x9cHALOGENATED HYDROCARBONSxe2x80x9d which issued on Dec. 21, 1971 to William Q. Beard, Jr. describes a process for the production of vinyl chloride and the coproduction of ethylene from ethane in the presence of hydrogen chloride and oxygen. Preferred catalysts are supported copper or iron. An example in this patent shows excess hydrogen chloride (HCl) relative to ethane in the reaction. A ratio of one ethane to four hydrogen chlorides is used to produce a steam containing 38.4 percent ethylene (which requires no HCl to produce) and 27.9 percent vinyl chloride (which requires only one mole of HCl per mole of vinyl chloride to produce).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,933 entitled xe2x80x9cETHYLENE FROM ETHANE, HALOGEN AND HYDROGEN HALIDE THROUGH FLUIDIZED CATALYSTxe2x80x9d which issued on Apr. 25, 1972 to William Q. Beard, Jr. describes a process for production of vinyl halides in a three reactor system combining an oxydehydrogenation reactor, an oxyhalogenation reactor and a dehydrohalogenation reactor. The authors show that (oxy)halodehydrogenation of ethane is, in some cases, enhanced by addition of both halogen and hydrogen halide. As in U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,354, the ethylene generated produces VCM through conventional oxyhalogenation (oxychlorination) and cracking. HCl produced in the cracking operation is returned to the halodehydrogenation reactor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658.934 entitled xe2x80x9cETHYLENE FROM ETHANE AND HALOGEN THROUGH FLUIDIZED RARE EARTH CATALYSTxe2x80x9d which issued on Apr. 25, 1972 to William Q. Beard, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,311 entitled xe2x80x9cHALODEHYDROGENATION CATALYSTxe2x80x9d which issued on Nov. 7, 1972 to William Q. Beard, Jr. both describe a process for production of vinyl halides in a three reactor system combining a halodehydrogenation reactor, an oxyhalogenation reactor and a dehydrohalogenation reactor. The authors describe the halodehydrogenation of ethane to produce ethylene for subsequent conversion to EDC through oxyhalogenation (oxychlorination) with subsequent production of VCM through conventional thermal cracking. HCl produced in the cracking operation is returned to the oxyhalogenation reactor in ""934 and to the halodehydrogenation reactor in ""311. In the latter patent, the advantages of excess total chlorine, as both HCl and Cl2 are shown to augment yield of desirable products.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,561 entitled xe2x80x9cOXYDEHYDROGENATION OF ETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on Feb. 22, 1972 to William Q. Beard, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,362 entitled xe2x80x9cOXYDEHYDROGENATION OF ETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on Oct. 30, 1973 to Williamn Q. Beard, Jr. relate closely to those above and describe processes for the oxydehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene in the presence of excess quantities of hydrogen halide. The patent describes a catalyst of either copper or iron halide further stabilized with rare earth halide where the ratio of rare earth to copper or iron halide is greater than 1:1. The patent describes use of a substantial excess of HCl relative to the molar amount of ethane fed, the HCl being unconsumed in the reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,823 entitled xe2x80x9cPROCESS FOR PRODUCING 1,2-DICHLOROETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on Sep. 6, 1977 to Ronnie D. Gordon and Charles M. Starks describes a process for the production of EDC where ethane and chlorine are reacted in the gas-phase over a copper containing catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,211 entitled xe2x80x9cPROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF ETHYLENE AND VINYL CHLORIDE FROM ETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on Jul. 11, 1978 to Angelo Joseph Magistro describes regeneration of an iron catalyst for a process which reacts ethane into both ethylene and VCM in a mixture. This patent describes that a chlorine source is present from 0.1 mole to 10 moles per mole of ethane. In general, as the ratio of hydrogen chloride to ethane is increased, the yield of vinyl chloride and other chlorinated products also increases even as the yield of ethylene decreases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,005 entitled xe2x80x9cPREPARATION OF VINYL CHLORIDExe2x80x9d which issued on Nov. 10, 1981 to Tao P. Li suggests a copper-based catalyst for production of VCM in the presence of excess HCl.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,083 entitled xe2x80x9cPROCESS FOR THE CHLORINATION OF ETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on Mar. 17, 1992 to John E. Stauffer describes chlorocarbons as a chlorine source in an ethane-to-VCM process. This patent describes methods where chlorohydrocarbons may be used to capture HCl for subsequent use in the production of vinyl.
EVC Corporation has been active in ethane-to-vinyl technology, and the following four patents have resulted from their efforts in development.
EP 667,845 entitled xe2x80x9cOXYCHLORINATION CATALYSTxe2x80x9d which issued on Jan. 14, 1998 to Ray Hardman and Ian Michael Clegg describes a copper-based catalyst with a stabilization package for ethane-to-vinyl catalysis. This catalyst appears to be relevant to the further technology described in the following three US patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,465 entitled xe2x80x9cBY-PRODUCT RECYCLING IN OXYCHLORINATION PROCESSxe2x80x9d which issued on Sep. 2, 1997 to Ian Michael Clegg and Ray Hardman describes a method for the catalytic oxychlorination of ethane to VCM which combines ethane and a chlorine source in an oxychlorination reactor with a suitable catalyst; recycles the byproducts to the oxychlorination reactor; treats unsaturated chlorinated hydrocarbon byproducts in a hydrogenation step to convert them to their saturated counterparts and passes them back to the reactor; and chlorinates ethylene byproduct to 1,2-dichloroethane for recycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,905 entitled xe2x80x9cVINYL CHLORIDE PRODUCTION PROCESSxe2x80x9d which issued on Mar. 17, 1998 to Ian Michael Clegg and Ray Hardman discusses ethane-to-vinyl manufacture in the presence of excess HCl using a copper catalyst. The patent describes a process of catalytic oxychlorination of ethane between ethane, an oxygen source and a chlorine source in the presence of a copper and alkali metal-containing catalyst. HCl is supplied to the oxychlorination reactor in excess of the stoichiometric requirement for chlorine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,710 entitled xe2x80x9cOXYCHLORINATION PROCESSxe2x80x9d which issued on Jun. 9, 1998 to Ian Michael Clegg and Ray Hardman discusses catalytic oxychlorination of ethane to VCM by combining ethane and a chlorine source in an oxychlorination reactor in the presence of an oxychlorination catalyst (the reaction conditions selected to maintain an excess of HCl); separating the VCM products; and recycling by-products to the reactor.
Turning now to art in the derivation of vinyl chloride from ethylene, most commercial processes for the production of VCM use ethylene and chlorine as key raw materials. Ethylene is contacted with chlorine in liquid 1,2-dichloroethane containing a catalyst in a direct chlorination reactor. The 1,2-dichloroethane is subsequently cracked at elevated temperature to yield VCM and hydrogen chloride (HCl). The HCl produced is in turn fed to an oxychlorination reactor where it is reacted with ethylene and oxygen to yield more 1,2-dichloroethane. This 1,2-dichloroethane is also fed to thermal cracking to produce VCM. Such a process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5.210,358 entitled xe2x80x9cCATALYST COMPOSITION AND PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ETHYLENE FROM ETHANExe2x80x9d which issued on May 11, 1993 to Angelo J. Magistro.
The three unit operations (direct chlorination, oxychlorination and thermal cracking) of most presently used commercial processes are frequently referenced in combination as a xe2x80x9cbalancedxe2x80x9d EDC plant, although additional sources of chlorine (HCl) are, in one embodiment, also brought into these extended plant systems. The net stoichiometry of the xe2x80x9cbalancedxe2x80x9d plant is:
4C2H4+2Cl2+O2xe2x86x924C2H3Cl+2H2O
Ethylene cost represents a significant fraction of the total cost of production of VCM and requires expensive assets to produce. Ethane is less expensive than ethylene, and production of VCM from ethane should, therefore, reasonably lower the production cost of VCM in comparison to the production cost of VCM when manufactured primarily from purified and separated ethylene.
It is common to refer to the conversion of ethylene, oxygen and hydrogen chloride to 1,2-dichloroethane as oxychlorination. Catalysts for the production of 1,2-dichloroethane by oxychlorination of ethylene share many common characteristics. Catalysts capable of performing this chemistry have been classified as modified Deacon catalysts [Olah, G. A., Molnar, A., Hydrocarbon Chemistry, John Wiley and Sons (New York, 1995), pg 226]. Deacon chemistry refer to the Deacon reaction, the oxidation of HCl to yield elemental chlorine and water. Other authors have offered that oxychlorination is the utilization of HCl for chlorination and that the HCl is converted oxidatively into Cl2 by means of the Deacon process [Selective Oxychlorination of Hydrocarbons: A Critical Analysis, Catalytica Associates, Inc., Study 4164A, October 1982, page 1]. The ability of oxychlorination catalysts to produce free chlorine (Cl2) thus defines them. Indeed, oxychlorination of alkanes has been linked to the production of free chlorine in the system [Selective Oxychlorination of Hydrocarbons: A Critical Analysis, Catalytical Associates, Inc., Study 4164A, October 1982, page 21 and references therein]. These catalysts employ supported metals capable of accessing more than one stable oxidation state, such as copper and iron. In the conventional technology, oxychlorination is the oxidative addition of two chlorine atoms to ethylene from HCl or another reduced chlorine source.
Production of vinyl from ethane can proceed via oxychlorination provided catalysts are present which are capable of production of free chlorine. Such catalysts will convert ethylene to 1,2-dichloroethane at low temperatures. At higher temperatures, 1,2-dichloroethane will be disposed to thermally crack to yield HCl and vinyl chloride. Oxychlorination catalysts chlorinate olefinic materials to still higher chlorocarbons. Thus, just as ethylene is converted to 1,2-dichloroethane, vinyl chloride is converted to 1,1,2-trichloroethane. Processes using oxychlorination catalysts inherently produce higher chlorinated side-products. This is examined in great detail in patents to EVC (EP 667,845, U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,465, U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,905, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,710), which show high levels of multichlorinated side-products being produced over the oxychlorination catalyst used. In consideration of the above, a number of concepts regarding the use of ethane to produce VCM have clearly been described previously. Catalysts employed most frequently are modified Deacon catalysts operated at sufficiently higher temperatures ( greater than 400xc2x0 C.) than those required to perform ethylene oxychlorination ( less than 275xc2x0 C.). Catalysts used for ethane-to-VCM manufacture are frequently stabilized against the migration of the first-row transition metals, as described and reviewed in GB Patent 1,492,945; GB Patent 2,101,596; U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,561; U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,005; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,905.
Use of chlorocarbons as chlorine sources in ethane-to-VCM processes has been disclosed in GB Patent 1,039,369; GB Patent 2,101,596; U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,083; U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,465; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,710. GB Patent 1,039,369 requires that water be fed to the reactor system. GB Patent 2,101,596 is specific to copper catalysts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,465 describes a process which uses a direct chlorination step to convert ethylene to EDC prior to feeding it back to the VCM reactor.
Notwithstanding a relatively qualitative reference in GB Patent 2,095,242, another recent development in ethylene-to-vinyl processes is outlined in Dow Case No. 44649 to Mark E. Jones, Michael M. Olken, and Daniel A. Hickman, entitled xe2x80x9cA PROCESS FOR THE CONVERSION OF ETHYLENE TO VINYL CHLORIDE, AND NOVEL CATALYST COMPOSITIONS USEFUL FOR SUCH PROCESSxe2x80x9d, filed on Oct. 3, 2000 in the United States Receiving Office, Express Mail Mailing Number EL636832801US. The catalyst of this application demonstrates utility in reacting significant quantities of both ethane and ethylene into vinyl chloride monomer and thereby opens a door to new approaches in processes for vinyl chloride manufacture. However, the catalyst action yields hydrogen chloride in the reaction product. In this regard, management of hydrogen chloride (and affiliated hydrochloric acid) within the process is a key issue to be resolved when a catalyst system capable of conversion of both ethane and ethylene into vinyl chloride monomer is used. In contemplation of vinyl chloride facility construction, there is also a need to enable use of prior equipment as much as possible, where some existing equipment may have the ability to handle hydrogen chloride and other existing equipment does not have the ability to handle hydrogen chloride. The present invention provides embodiments for fulfilling these needs, by providing an apparatus and process for handling hydrogen chloride generated from the ethane/ethylene-to-vinyl reactor by essentially fully recovering it from the reactor effluent in the first unit operation after the ethane/ethylene-to-vinyl reaction step or stage.
The invention provides a method of manufacturing vinyl chloride, using the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, where the molar ratio of the ethane to the ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching the reactor effluent stream to provide a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating the raw product stream into a vinyl chloride monomer product stream and into a lights stream; and
recycling the lights stream to catalytically react together with the ethane, the ethylene, the oxygen, and the chlorine source in the generating step.
The invention also provides a method of manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a vinyl chloride monomer product stream and into a lights stream; and
recycling said lights stream to catalytically react together with said ethane, said ethylene, said oxygen, and said chlorine source in said generating step.
The invention further provides a method of manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream from a reactor by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichlorethylene and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichloroethane stream, and a heavies stream;
recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream into said reactor effluent stream;
recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor; and
absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
The invention further provides a method of manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream in a reactor by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichloroethane stream, and a heavies stream;
hydrogenating said cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream to provide recycle feed to said reactor;
recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor effluent stream;
recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor; and
absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
The invention further provides an apparatus for manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising:
a reactor for generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
means for quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
means for separating said raw product stream into a vinyl chloride monomer product stream and into a lights stream; and
means for recycling said lights stream to said reactor.
The invention further provides an apparatus for manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising:
a reactor for generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
means for quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
means for separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichloroethane stream, and a heavies stream;
means for recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
means for recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream into said reactor effluent stream;
means for recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor; and
means for absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
The invention further provides an apparatus for manufacturing vinyl chloride, comprising:
a reactor for generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
means for quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
means for separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichloroethane stream, and a heavies stream;
means for hydrogenating said cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream to provide recycle feed to said reactor;
means for recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
means for recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor effluent stream;
means for recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor, and means for absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
The invention further provides vinyl chloride manufactured using a process comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw produce stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a vinyl chloride monomer product stream and into a lights stream; and
recycling said lights stream to catalytically react together with said ethane, said ethylene, said oxygen, and said chlorine source in said generating step.
The invention further provides vinyl chloride manufactured using a process comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichlomethane stream, and a heavies stream;
recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream into said reactor effluent stream;
recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor; and
absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
The invention further provides vinyl chloride manufactured using a process comprising the steps of:
generating a reactor effluent stream from a reactor by catalytically reacting together ethane, ethylene, oxygen, and at least one chlorine source of hydrogen chloride, chlorine, or a chlorohydrocarbon, wherein the molar ratio of said ethane to said ethylene is between 0.02 and 50;
quenching said reactor effluent stream to provide a raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream and a raw product stream essentially devoid of hydrogen chloride;
separating said raw product stream into a lights stream, a water product stream, a vinyl chloride monomer product stream, an ethyl chloride stream, a cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and trans-1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream, a 1,2-dichloroethane stream, and a heavies stream;
hydrogenating said cis-1,2-dichloroethylene and -1,2-dichlorethylene blended stream to provide recycle feed to said reactor;
recovering a dilute hydrogen chloride stream and an anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream from said raw cooled hydrogen chloride stream;
recycling said dilute hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor effluent stream;
recycling said anhydrous hydrogen chloride stream to said reactor; and
absorbing and recycling to said reactor a C2 stream from said lights stream.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are more fully apparent from a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which: